The Hugo awards ceremony “only represents tiny, insular, politically motivated cliques taking turns giving their friends awards,” Larry Coreia, a ringleader of the Puppies, argued in 2015. Because of this supposed conspiracy — for which there continues to be no real evidence — he felt justified in helping organize an actual conspiracy of his tiny, insular, politically motivated clique to flood the ballot with conservatives.
Tag: 08.23.16
The Al Qaeda Leader On Trial For Destroying Timbuktu’s Treasures
“al Mahdi is not on trial for the amputations, beheadings, torture, and rapes associated with the “holy war” waged by al Qaeda, ISIS, and their offshoots. Al Mahdi is on trial for massacring history.”
Research: Reading Fiction Makes Us More Perceptive
“Habitual engagement with others’ minds — even fictional ones” can bolster the sort of awareness that is essential for empathy, write psychologists David Kidd and Emanuele Castano of the New School for Social Research. Their study is published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.
Death By Bagpipe
Two years after the man’s death, doctors say they have solved the medical mystery. In a report published Monday in the medical journal Thorax, a team of five UHSM researchers coined a new term for the man’s condition. “Bagpipe lung.”
How Washington’s National Mall Became The National Mall
“In the beginning, before Washington had been designated the nation’s capital, much of the Mall was an empty lowland along the Potomac, made yet marshier by the Tiber Creek, which flowed into the river not far from where the Washington Monument stands today.”
The Toothless Old Critics? (Were It Ever Thus)
The decline of intellectual life has been a trope of intellectual life since Socrates, who, Plato tells us, believed writing “will create forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves.” More than 2,000 years later, the terms have shifted, but not the argument.
Would You Like To Own Truman Capote’s Ashes? Bid Here!
The bidding is up to $2,750 so far, and the cremains themselves come from the estate of one of Johnny Carson’s ex-wives. (We are not making this up.)
Michelle Obama As Pop-Culture Figure (And Pop-Culture Critic)
“While I am first lady, I wasn’t first lady my whole life. I’m a product of pop culture. I’m a consumer of pop culture, and I know what resonates with people. I know what they’ll get a chuckle out of and what they think is kind of silly. And whenever my team approaches me with ideas and concepts, we’re usually like, ‘Is this really funny? Are people going to understand it?'”
The Godfather Of Cuban Ballet Dancers In The States
“[Pedro Pablo Peña] came to Miami in 1980 on the Mariel Boatlift. … Over the years, he has gained a reputation for running a safe haven for Cuban dancers when they touch down in America. ‘They are able to continue their career in the United States. I offer to help with everything.’ Peña gives them a spot in his Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami or helps them contract with other companies. He also provides housing and a surrogate family for those with no local relatives.”
Yannick’s Successor At The Rotterdam Phil Will Be –
– the youngest person ever to hold the chief conductor position at the orchestra, which has a history of appointing young maestros who go on to major international careers. Lahav Shani, now 27, starts the job in 2018, the Rotterdam Philharmonic’s 100th anniversary year.